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  <div class="section" id="cpack-external-generator">
<span id="cpack_gen:CPack External Generator"></span><h1>CPack External Generator<a class="headerlink" href="#cpack-external-generator" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p>CPack provides many generators to create packages for a variety of platforms
and packaging systems. The intention is for CMake/CPack to be a complete
end-to-end solution for building and packaging a software project. However, it
may not always be possible to use CPack for the entire packaging process, due
to either technical limitations or policies that require the use of certain
tools. For this reason, CPack provides the “External” generator, which allows
external packaging software to take advantage of some of the functionality
provided by CPack, such as component installation and the dependency graph.</p>
<div class="section" id="integration-with-external-packaging-tools">
<h2>Integration with External Packaging Tools<a class="headerlink" href="#integration-with-external-packaging-tools" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p>The CPack External generator generates a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">.json</span></code> file containing the
CPack internal metadata, which gives external software information
on how to package the software. External packaging software may itself
invoke CPack, consume the generated metadata,
install and package files as required.</p>
<p>Alternatively CPack can invoke an external packaging software
through an optional custom CMake script in
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT"></span><a class="reference internal" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT" title="CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT</span></code></a> instead.</p>
<p>Staging of installation files may also optionally be
taken care of by the generator when enabled through the
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING"></span><a class="reference internal" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING" title="CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING</span></code></a> variable.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="json-format">
<h2>JSON Format<a class="headerlink" href="#json-format" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p>The JSON metadata file contains a list of CPack components and component groups,
the various options passed to <span class="target" id="index-0-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a> and
<span class="target" id="index-0-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>, the dependencies between the components
and component groups, and various other options passed to CPack.</p>
<p>The JSON’s root object will always provide two fields:
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">formatVersionMajor</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">formatVersionMinor</span></code>, which are always integers
that describe the output format of the generator. Backwards-compatible changes
to the output format (for example, adding a new field that didn’t exist before)
cause the minor version to be incremented, and backwards-incompatible changes
(for example, deleting a field or changing its meaning) cause the major version
to be incremented and the minor version reset to 0. The format version is
always of the format <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major.minor</span></code>. In other words, it always has exactly two
parts, separated by a period.</p>
<p>You can request one or more specific versions of the output format as described
below with <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS" title="CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS</span></code></a>. The output format will
have a major version that exactly matches the requested major version, and a
minor version that is greater than or equal to the requested minor version. If
no version is requested with <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS" title="CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS</span></code></a>, the
latest known major version is used by default. Currently, the only supported
format is 1.0, which is described below.</p>
<div class="section" id="version-1-0">
<h3>Version 1.0<a class="headerlink" href="#version-1-0" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<p>In addition to the standard format fields, format version 1.0 provides the
following fields in the root:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">components</span></code></dt><dd><p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">components</span></code> field is an object with component names as the keys and
objects describing the components as the values. The component objects have
the following fields:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">name</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the component. This is always the same as the key in the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">components</span></code> object.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">displayName</span></code></dt><dd><p>The value of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DISPLAY_NAME</span></code> field passed to
<span class="target" id="index-1-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">description</span></code></dt><dd><p>The value of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DESCRIPTION</span></code> field passed to
<span class="target" id="index-2-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isHidden</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">HIDDEN</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-3-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>, false if
it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isRequired</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">REQUIRED</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-4-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>, false if
it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isDisabledByDefault</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DISABLED</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-5-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>, false if
it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">group</span></code></dt><dd><p>Only present if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">GROUP</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-6-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>. If
so, this field is a string value containing the component’s group.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dependencies</span></code></dt><dd><p>An array of components the component depends on. This contains the values
in the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DEPENDS</span></code> argument passed to <span class="target" id="index-7-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>. If no
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DEPENDS</span></code> argument was passed, this is an empty list.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">installationTypes</span></code></dt><dd><p>An array of installation types the component is part of. This contains the
values in the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">INSTALL_TYPES</span></code> argument passed to
<span class="target" id="index-8-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>. If no <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">INSTALL_TYPES</span></code> argument was
passed, this is an empty list.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isDownloaded</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DOWNLOADED</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-9-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>, false
if it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">archiveFile</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the archive file passed with the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ARCHIVE_FILE</span></code> argument to
<span class="target" id="index-10-command:cpack_add_component"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component" title="cpack_add_component"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component()</span></code></a>. If no <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ARCHIVE_FILE</span></code> argument was passed,
this is an empty string.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">componentGroups</span></code></dt><dd><p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">componentGroups</span></code> field is an object with component group names as the
keys and objects describing the component groups as the values. The component
group objects have the following fields:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">name</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the component group. This is always the same as the key in the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">componentGroups</span></code> object.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">displayName</span></code></dt><dd><p>The value of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DISPLAY_NAME</span></code> field passed to
<span class="target" id="index-1-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">description</span></code></dt><dd><p>The value of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DESCRIPTION</span></code> field passed to
<span class="target" id="index-2-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">parentGroup</span></code></dt><dd><p>Only present if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">PARENT_GROUP</span></code> was passed to
<span class="target" id="index-3-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>. If so, this field is a string value
containing the component group’s parent group.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isExpandedByDefault</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">EXPANDED</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-4-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>,
false if it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isBold</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">BOLD_TITLE</span></code> was passed to <span class="target" id="index-5-command:cpack_add_component_group"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_component_group" title="cpack_add_component_group"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_component_group()</span></code></a>,
false if it was not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">components</span></code></dt><dd><p>An array of names of components that are direct members of the group
(components that have this group as their <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">GROUP</span></code>). Components of
subgroups are not included.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">subgroups</span></code></dt><dd><p>An array of names of component groups that are subgroups of the group
(groups that have this group as their <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">PARENT_GROUP</span></code>).</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">installationTypes</span></code></dt><dd><p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">installationTypes</span></code> field is an object with installation type names as
the keys and objects describing the installation types as the values. The
installation type objects have the following fields:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">name</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the installation type. This is always the same as the key in
the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">installationTypes</span></code> object.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">displayName</span></code></dt><dd><p>The value of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DISPLAY_NAME</span></code> field passed to
<span class="target" id="index-0-command:cpack_add_install_type"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPackComponent.html#command:cpack_add_install_type" title="cpack_add_install_type"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack_add_install_type()</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">index</span></code></dt><dd><p>The integer index of the installation type in the list.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">projects</span></code></dt><dd><p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">projects</span></code> field is an array of objects describing CMake projects which
comprise the CPack project. The values in this field are derived from
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS" title="CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS</span></code></a>. In most cases, this will be only a
single project. The project objects have the following fields:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">projectName</span></code></dt><dd><p>The project name passed to <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS" title="CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">component</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the component or component set which comprises the project.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">directory</span></code></dt><dd><p>The build directory of the CMake project. This is the directory which
contains the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake_install.cmake</span></code> script.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">subDirectory</span></code></dt><dd><p>The subdirectory to install the project into inside the CPack package.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">packageName</span></code></dt><dd><p>The package name given in <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME" title="CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME</span></code></a>. Only present if
this option is set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">packageVersion</span></code></dt><dd><p>The package version given in <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION" title="CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION</span></code></a>. Only present
if this option is set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">packageDescriptionFile</span></code></dt><dd><p>The package description file given in
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_FILE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_FILE" title="CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_FILE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_FILE</span></code></a>. Only present if this option is
set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">packageDescriptionSummary</span></code></dt><dd><p>The package description summary given in
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY" title="CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY</span></code></a>. Only present if this option is
set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">buildConfig</span></code></dt><dd><p>The build configuration given to CPack with the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-C</span></code> option. Only present
if this option is set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">defaultDirectoryPermissions</span></code></dt><dd><p>The default directory permissions given in
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_INSTALL_DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_INSTALL_DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS.html#variable:CPACK_INSTALL_DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS" title="CPACK_INSTALL_DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_INSTALL_DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS</span></code></a>. Only present if this
option is set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">setDestdir</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_SET_DESTDIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_SET_DESTDIR.html#variable:CPACK_SET_DESTDIR" title="CPACK_SET_DESTDIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_SET_DESTDIR</span></code></a> is true, false if it is not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">packagingInstallPrefix</span></code></dt><dd><p>The install prefix given in <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_PACKAGING_INSTALL_PREFIX"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_PACKAGING_INSTALL_PREFIX.html#variable:CPACK_PACKAGING_INSTALL_PREFIX" title="CPACK_PACKAGING_INSTALL_PREFIX"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_PACKAGING_INSTALL_PREFIX</span></code></a>. Only
present if <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CPACK_SET_DESTDIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_SET_DESTDIR.html#variable:CPACK_SET_DESTDIR" title="CPACK_SET_DESTDIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_SET_DESTDIR</span></code></a> is true.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">stripFiles</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_STRIP_FILES"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CPack.html#variable:CPACK_STRIP_FILES" title="CPACK_STRIP_FILES"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_STRIP_FILES</span></code></a> is true, false if it is not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">warnOnAbsoluteInstallDestination</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_WARN_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_WARN_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION.html#variable:CPACK_WARN_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION" title="CPACK_WARN_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_WARN_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION</span></code></a> is true, false
if it is not.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">errorOnAbsoluteInstallDestination</span></code></dt><dd><p>True if <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CPACK_ERROR_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CPACK_ERROR_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION.html#variable:CPACK_ERROR_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION" title="CPACK_ERROR_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_ERROR_ON_ABSOLUTE_INSTALL_DESTINATION</span></code></a> is true,
false if it is not.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="variables-specific-to-cpack-external-generator">
<h2>Variables specific to CPack External generator<a class="headerlink" href="#variables-specific-to-cpack-external-generator" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<dl class="variable">
<dt id="variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS">
<code class="sig-name descname">CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS</code><a class="headerlink" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><p>This variable is used to request a specific version of the CPack External
generator. It is a list of <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major.minor</span></code> values, separated by semicolons.</p>
<p>If this variable is set to a non-empty value, the CPack External generator
will iterate through each item in the list to search for a version that it
knows how to generate. Requested versions should be listed in order of
descending preference by the client software, as the first matching version
in the list will be generated.</p>
<p>The generator knows how to generate the version if it has a versioned
generator whose major version exactly matches the requested major version,
and whose minor version is greater than or equal to the requested minor
version. For example, if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS</span></code> contains 1.0, and
the CPack External generator knows how to generate 1.1, it will generate 1.1.
If the generator doesn’t know how to generate a version in the list, it skips
the version and looks at the next one. If it doesn’t know how to generate any
of the requested versions, an error is thrown.</p>
<p>If this variable is not set, or is empty, the CPack External generator will
generate the highest major and minor version that it knows how to generate.</p>
<p>If an invalid version is encountered in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_EXTERNAL_REQUESTED_VERSIONS</span></code> (one
that doesn’t match <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major.minor</span></code>, where <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">minor</span></code> are
integers), it is ignored.</p>
</dd></dl>

<dl class="variable">
<dt id="variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING">
<code class="sig-name descname">CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING</code><a class="headerlink" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_ENABLE_STAGING" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><p>This variable can be set to true to enable optional installation
into a temporary staging area which can then be picked up
and packaged by an external packaging tool.
The top level directory used by CPack for the current packaging
task is contained in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_TOPLEVEL_DIRECTORY</span></code>.
It is automatically cleaned up on each run before packaging is initiated
and can be used for custom temporary files required by
the external packaging tool.
It also contains the staging area <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CPACK_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY</span></code>
into which CPack performs the installation when staging is enabled.</p>
</dd></dl>

<dl class="variable">
<dt id="variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT">
<code class="sig-name descname">CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT</code><a class="headerlink" href="#variable:CPACK_EXTERNAL_PACKAGE_SCRIPT" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><p>This variable can optionally specify the full path to
a CMake script file to be run as part of the CPack invocation.
It is invoked after (optional) staging took place and may
run an external packaging tool. The script has access to
the variables defined by the CPack config file.</p>
</dd></dl>

</div>
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  <ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">CPack External Generator</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#integration-with-external-packaging-tools">Integration with External Packaging Tools</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#json-format">JSON Format</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#version-1-0">Version 1.0</a></li>
</ul>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#variables-specific-to-cpack-external-generator">Variables specific to CPack External generator</a></li>
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